


so tell me, darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?

by wshxn



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 04:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11547699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wshxn/pseuds/wshxn
Summary: chanyeol simply loves from afar, stealing merely a glance or two at the way jongin’s cheeks flush in the summer.





	so tell me, darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?

**Author's Note:**

> prompt# 73: jongin has never seen the ocean. when chanyeol takes him there, jongin falls in love with the waves, and chanyeol falls in love with him.

chanyeol is in love.

not in a way that complicates his thoughts and makes him flush his feelings down with mugs of his usual morning coffee staring a bit too long at jongin’s lithe frame hunched over the stove. it is not in a way that has his stomach tie in knots with anxiety or nausea, or has his music playing the cheesiest of ballads at an ungodly hour in those evenings he is left tinkering with his guitar with trembling fingers, eyes glazed over and wondering and lost among the mess of jongin’s hair on his shoulder. 

chanyeol simply loves from afar, stealing merely a glance or two at the way jongin’s cheeks flush in the summer; when chanyeol tiptoes to his room at hours past midnight knowing his best friend is fast asleep, and his hands could write sheets upon sheets of lyrics with just the thought of golden skin and late night fast food cravings. 

chanyeol chooses to love jongin as quietly as possible, that even if his feelings grow significantly by the day, he remains in the shadows where he hopes jongin would never find him.

 

  

 

chanyeol had been in sixth grade when jongin, much younger and outgoing, had allegedly found chanyeol’s ferret only to have the latter run home and sob into his mother’s arms, terrified and shaken over a dead squirrel. 

but it had pulled jongin in, kissing chanyeol’s rounded cheek in apology while the latter sat aghast at the gesture, wondering at the ripe age of ten why the touch had felt so electric. 

and even now, as he watches jongin chew on his pencil over his worksheets on theoretical probability, there are currents running through his veins. 

‘stop chewing on those,’ chanyeol reprimands, knitting his brows together in faux annoyance. ‘you’ll ruin your teeth.’

jongin is beautiful, even as he makes a face and sticks his tongue out at chanyeol in the most childish way possible. ‘donate some of yours, then.’ 

‘well,’ chanyeol bares his teeth, tongue flicking over his fangs. he misses the way jongin averts his eyes. ‘i do have eighty-seven thousand, four hundred and two of them.’ 

chanyeol holds his breath when jongin laughs, unconstrained and genuinely amused. 

‘say,’ jongin starts when he has calmed, worksheets scattered across the table like chanyeol’s thoughts when he stares a tad too long. ‘we haven’t gotten lost together in a while.’ 

getting lost meant finding solace in unfamiliar territory—an abandoned building, a secluded clearing, a lake on a standstill in the middle of spring. for chanyeol, it is drowning in the darkness that have become jongin’s eyes. he can’t find it in himself to say no. ‘where to?’ 

there is a slight tremble in jongin’s voice as he says, ‘i… have never been to the beach before,’ and it takes all of chanyeol’s willpower not to kiss his frown away. ‘i’ve always wanted to, but my… we haven’t had the time as a family.’

‘we can blow up our weekly savings from a couple of months ago and take the train out of town first thing in the morning,’ chanyeol says in one breath, almost surprising the both of them, but is caught with how wide and wonderful jongin’s eyes have become. ‘we—we can skip a couple of days of school, no big deal. if you’re—only if you’re up for it, i mean.’ 

‘but the beach? in _octobe_ r?’ jongin guffaws, smile bursting at the seams that it puts the midday sun to shame. it makes chanyeol unconsciously tighten his grip around his mug. ‘that’s the _best_ thing you said today, park chanyeol.’

 

 

 

they are out the door forty minutes after chanyeol’s alarm blares at six the very next morning, giggling with excitement and the thought of a spontaneous getaway. jongin is practically bouncing on his feet as he watches chanyeol lock their door, tugging at his sleeve to _hurry the fuck up_ _or we’ll miss the train!_ and they almost do even if jongin practically drags chanyeol by the hand a few blocks down the road.

they make it to the platform just in time before the doors close, and the momentary fear of being left behind fades as they take their seats. jongin takes the window, and chanyeol the aisle—just like old times.

it’s almost mechanical how jongin leans against chanyeol, linking their arms together with his head on the latter’s shoulder for support. ‘we haven’t done anything at all, but i’m already thanking you for this.’

chanyeol can feel the warmth radiating off of jongin, like he’s stealing what little sunshine is left of this gloomy autumn morn. ‘you’re my best friend. you know i’d do anything for and with you.’

 _‘anything_?’ jongin sing-songs, lips creeping into a smile so mischievous and wicked that chanyeol visibly gulps. he knows that gesture all too well. ‘like maybe we can go skinny-dipping?’’

chanyeol chokes on his spit, coughing until he thought he would die for sure because he _has_ seen jongin naked, but things could spiral down from there. he is slowly but surely losing control. ‘are you fucking insane?’ maybe. ‘you can’t even stand the cold, much less dive into freezing water!’

and it’s true, because jongin nuzzles into chanyeol’s neck during winter, tucking his barefeet under his weight and complaining about how the summer days come and go like the warm wind that blows through his hair in july.

‘fine,’ jongin huffs, and he pouts. ‘just come get ice cream with me then.’

chanyeol merely rolls his eyes.

 

   

 

being in an abandoned beach somewhere in the outskirts of the city is both gratifying and eerie, but the danger behind jongin’s childlike giggles as he pulls chanyeol playfully to the shore raises unwanted alarms in chanyeol’s head.

jongin is beautiful just like this, running after the waves and leaving footprints in the sand, his lips pulled back into absolute euphoria over the ocean between his toes. for a moment, chanyeol is on a standstill, caught with the way his best friend calls for his name, the way has hands gesture for chanyeol to _come closer._

but chanyeol freezes, his lips beginning to quiver at the _fear_ of being exposed, and only then does he notice jongin walking over with genuine concern and what seemed like heartache. ‘should we not have come here?’

‘i—’ chanyeol starts, not quite liking how the knot in his stomach is rising to a lump in his throat, watching as the sun lights jongin’s skin gold, and he sets himself free. ‘i love you, jongin. i’ve always been _in love_ with you, and i can’t—i don’t want—i’m sorry, i shouldn’t have—i just love you. _i love you_. all of you. that’s it.’

all the years spent hiding, the wall chanyeol has built for this day to never come, come crashing down before him, and he has absolutely no control. jongin’s lips have parted in awe, and chanyeol swears he has never wanted to be swallowed whole by the ground, bury him deep along with his dignity and remorse—

‘park chanyeol, you are an absolute idiot,’ jongin erupts into peals of laughter until there are tears in his eyes, and the frown on chanyeol’s lips grow deeper. that doesn’t stop jongin from tackling chanyeol to the sand, straddling him while he jabs his fingers onto chanyeol’s sides until his best friend ends up laughing along with him. ‘so, so stupid—’

and he stops, catches his breath, and for a moment chanyeol braces himself for a heartbreak until jongin leans down to speak against his lips for what would be the first time. and it feels just as amazing, hypnotizing, and stupefying as chanyeol imagined it would be. ‘took you long enough.’

there chanyeol is, out in the open, illuminated by the brightness in jongin’s eyes, and it feels liberating and overwhelming. it is his turn to laugh this time, happiness bubbling uncontrollably out of his chest because _finally_ he is where he wants to be.

**Author's Note:**

> i merely hope i did this prompt justice. thank you, mod sid, for your unending patience; this is for you.


End file.
